Seeker
by Random One-Shot
Summary: Day after day, Kairi returns to that shore to wait and wish for the boys who she cannot remember. However, waiting gets tedious and wishes may come true, but not how you wanted them too. Axel is going to get Kairi off that island, but where she goes from there, who knows? Certainly not him. First Arc - Neverland
1. Destiny Islands - Departure

She had sent the letter off right there.

The vague feelings and wishes she had put to paper and sealed in a bottle could have made it to another world by now, or they could have been eaten by a shark, or sunk to the bottom of the sea. There was no way of knowing. Just like there was no way of knowing where he was or how he was.

Kairi hated it.

Sora, the name that had bubbled up from her memory, was still gone and she was still waiting. She came every day after school ended and stayed at the beach until the sun set. Then she counted the stars, wondering how many less were in the sky now than last year, until exhaustion and homework finally forced her back to her father's house. Come the weekend she continued the pattern. Most of the time, Selphie, Tidus and Wakka joined her. She knew they did it more for her than him. Only Selphie was starting to remember him as more than a name and Kairi was almost certain that was because she herself could not stop talking about him.

Thankfully, she did not get a sense of frustration from the other girl about it. From the moment she sent that letter off, Kairi had told Selphie everything she could remember about Sora and everything she had begun to remember since. About how they had all played on the kid island, about how Sora and Riku were always competing with each other (and Sora often losing), about how Riku had wanted to build a raft and escape the islands together, about

_beady glowing yellow eyes floating in the dark that bubbled and frothed out of the bare ground_

…Well, about a lot of things.

She did not believe everything, of course. It was becoming more and more clear to Kairi that she and the two boys were exceptions for surviving the destruction of their world with their hearts intact (for the most part). Selphie did have small, terrifying memories of black monsters coming for her in the dark of the night, but had put them down to a nightmare and never said anything about it until Kairi had mentioned them. But there was nothing about what had happened to Selphie after the monsters had reached her.

Kairi stopped talking about the Heartless after that.

But even with Selphie as a sounding board to help her straighten out her memories, Kairi knew she was still missing more than she had recovered. Almost all of her memories of Sora would just _stop_ in the middle of a recollection, leaving her empty mouthed and fumbling for what had happened next.

Why had Sora left her here?

Where was he now?

When was he coming back?

And the most pressing question of all – what would she say to him when he did?

"Sora, do you remember how you saved my life? No? What a coincidence, neither do I!"

She could not say that to him. She could not say any such variation of those words to him. She knew it was not her fault, not if everyone had forgotten him (even his _parents_, which was a whole new kind of heartbreaking).

But what was worse: to not remember him from afar or from up close? He had… she was almost certain he had promised to come back home. She could not imagine him leaving and never returning. Therefore, he must come back sooner or later. If he could….

…It had been a year.

…She had forgotten him entirely, along with everyone else.

Who was to say he was even capable of returning right now? He could very well have gotten trapped or lost. The universe was a very, very big place.

And there she was, stuck on the tiniest of islands, staring forlornly at their old play spot like a damsel in one of Selphie's softcover romance novelettes.

"Maybe… waiting isn't good enough."

But how could she leave? The only door she knew of was in the cave and she did not have the key. Come to think of it, the last time it opened….

"My thoughts exactly. If you have a dream, don't wait. Act."

The voice was coming out of the empty air.

"Got it memorized?"

No, it was coming out of the big gaping void to nowhere that had split reality down the middle to her left.

Huh.

"Who are you?"

He was wearing a dark coat that covered him from shoulder to booted foot. Only his head was uncovered and it topped off with flamboyantly red spikes that jutted out from his scalp like blades. Poisonously green eyes stared out of a china pale face with a single tattoo creeping down from each eye.

"Axel. I happen to be an acquaintance of Sora's. Shall we go see him?"

"…Sora?" Kairi echoed and, for a moment, hesitated.

But only for a moment.

'_No.'_

Kairi took a step back. This man set off every alarm bell in her head, even discounting the black magic trick. Smiling men in long coats who said they know your friend and offered to take you somewhere? No. Just no.

Sadly, he did not seem intent on letting her leave. Watching her step back, Axel sighed and closed his eyes as if in pain. The four white _things_ erupted from the ground in a square around her, penning her between them. They had no feet nor hands, no eyes nor ears, and their faces could barely be called such. Looking at them, Kairi felt a wave of disgust and horror that only the Heartless had ever inspired.

With her stalled, Axel felt confident enough to speak again. His tone was soft and pleading. The monsters around Kairi were anything but.

"We've got something in common, Kairi. We both miss someone we care about. I feel like we're friends all ready."

There was no way out. How funny – only a minute before she had been wishing to leave, but now she would have given anything for a way to escape the one who could take her.

"You're not acting very friendly," Kairi pointed out, thinking furiously. Her friends knew where she was, her father knew, but what were the odds of them showing up soon or even being able to help?

The man laughed.

"Okay, fair enough. I am taking you to Sora, though. How's about a smile? I know you must miss him. Well, or maybe not. Little witch was too good at her job."

'_What?'_

But then he was walking towards her and there was no more time. The white creatures crowded in closer, their waving arms forming a fence between her and freedom. Only the red haired man – Axel – was enough to part their blockade and as soon as he did, one hand grabbed her arm and the other lifted to snap two fingers.

Another tear opened up before them, black nothing oozing out from its base. The white creatures seemed to deflate and then spin off into it like punctured balloons. Hauling Kairi behind him, Axel followed.

* * *

><p>It felt wrong.<p>

That was the only thing Kairi could think when she first set foot into the dark corridor. The air itself seemed to be trying to smother her. The ground was slick beneath her feet and almost wanted to trip her. There was no light, but she could see just fine. There was no sound, but an echoing emptiness that made her ears ring. The whole place defied every law she had come to accept as commonplace and it was wrong.

Then Axel pulled harder and Kairi focused.

The white creatures had vanished. It was just the two of them, marching along in the dark to who knew where. No one to help her. But no one to help him either, if she could get away before he called them back.

She faked a trip, falling heavily and letting her weight yank against the arm in Axel's grasp.

"Hey, get up," he snapped.

"I can't," Kairi said, adding weakness into her voice. It was not hard. The atmosphere itself seemed to hate her. "This place…" She trailed off.

"Seriously, get up," Axel repeated. Was it her imagination, or was there fear in his voice? "There are things living here and if you stay in one place, they start sniffing around."

Kairi said nothing, did nothing.

'_Drop your guard. I'm just a weak, frail, helpless little girl. Really.'_

"Fine, I'll just – "

There.

His hand around her arm, loosened. The other reaching down for her. He was bending over, off balance.

From her vantage point on the ground, Kairi grabbed Axel's nearest ankle and _pulled_.

He tumbled over with a yell and let go of her completely. Kairi bolted.

"Idiot, you'll attract – "

Too late, Kairi knew what he meant by _things living here_.

Axel must have been hiding her somehow, or maybe it was just poor timing, but yellow lamplight eyes were beginning to shine from the dark and Kairi found that she did not care why.

There were too many. Far, far too many in far too short a time. And they were only closing in on her. For whatever reason, Axel did not exist for them.

Lances of fire destroyed the ones closest to her, but more followed.

"Come here!" Axel yelled. Kairi saw him running towards her.

And then the ground opened beneath her feet and she saw nothing at all.

* * *

><p><em>Ah, Kingdom Hearts. With us finally getting news about KHIII, I decided it was time to break out the old games and play them again. I've already beaten 1, 2 and CoM. I'm about 12 done with BbS. Re:, 365/2, and DDD are all beyond me until I can scrape together the money for a 3DS. _

_Anyway – as the ending cutscene for KH1 rolled in front of my eyes again, I wondered why Sora didn't just grab RIku's arm and haul him out from behind the door before shutting it. This was not the first time I wondered about that and it would not be the last, but it probably won't get an answer. What I can attempt to answer is what would happen if Riku were too late during the scene where Axel hunted up Kairi and made her go with him. With everyone world hopping in KHII, I always felt a bit miffed that Kairi only ever reached Twilight Town and The World That Never Was. Granted, she probably went to other places while Axel had her, but we never got to see them. _

_Thus, this story. _

_Seeker__ is essentially a KHII Kairi fic following the basic plot of the game, but with a few smaller twists that Kairi introduces by being in different places at different times while she searches for Sora and Riku. Mostly, it's just an excuse to write about the Disney worlds I wish I'd seen, but never did. _


	2. Neverland - Awakening

"Is she dead?"

No, she was not, but it certainly felt like she was. Weak, aching, hungry. Kairi could not remember ever feeling this bad before.

Something poked her.

Opening her eyes, Kairi saw two boys leaning over to peer at her curiously. They looked to be about ten years old each, and they were dressed in the silliest costumes she had ever seen. A bear suit and a skunk suit would have looked strange in any case, but added to the fact that they were all on a pristine white beach just made it worse. The only thing she could think of was that there had been a party and she missed it.

"Hey, you're alive!" The skunk boy yelled.

"Well, yes," Kairi admitted. "Do you two see a man with red hair anywhere?"

"No. Why? Is he a friend of yours?"

"Not in the least. Stay away from that guy."

Trying to stand up only made her sway, but the boy in the bear costume offered her his hand and she made it the rest of the way up. Wherever they were was far away from the main island, she decided. She could not see any of the smog from the city in the sky, and there were no ships on the horizon in any direction. Exactly how far had Axel taken her?

"Hey, are you okay?"

Kairi blinked and looked down at the boys. They were both staring at her worriedly.

"Um, I think so. I don't know where I ended up, though. Can you tell me how far away we are from the city?"

Now they just looked confused.

"What city?" Bear asked. "There isn't a city anywhere near here. You'd have to fly all the way across the ocean to get to London."

Now Kairi was confused. "London? Where's that? I mean City Island, in the Destiny Islands."

There was no reply, and as Kairi looked at the blank faces before her, she realized that there would probably not be. They had no idea what she was talking about. A very strange, but not implausible idea found its way into her head.

'_I didn't leave that black corridor at the same place I came into it. Where did I come to?'_

"What do you call this place?" Kairi asked.

"Well, Neverland of course. I've never heard of this Destiny Island you're talking about. But how'd you get all the way here, then?" Skunk asked.

"I was taken by a man with red hair, in a long black coat. I got away from him, but I wound up here instead of home, I think," Kairi said vaguely. It was probably best to keep the "other worlds" business quiet until she had a better idea of this place. Even in her head, it still sounded strange and she had lived it.

"So, you're in trouble? Great!" Bear yelled.

Kairi blinked. "What?"

Bear stopped his enthusiasm and looked sheepish. "Well, not the you being in trouble thing, but the us helping you thing. We haven't had much to do since Pan made off with the last of Hook's treasure and it's gonna take him some time to gather up more for us to steal, and Tiger Lily hasn't been in trouble lately, and the mermaids all went underwater for some ceremony, so it's been kind of boring around here. We could help you get home and away from the black coated man!"

"You'd do it just like that?" Kairi asked, perplexed. She was grateful for the help, but to have a boy younger than her throwing himself into it with such enthusiasm was bizarre.

"Of course," Skunk said proudly. "The heroes always save the damsels. That's how it goes."

'_Ah, I see now,'_ Kairi thought.

"So it's like that? Okay, I accept. Please help me, noble boys of Neverland. I am lost and in need of shelter," she said grandly and with more than a hint of melodrama.

"Super! Follow us back to the hideout. We can let girls in now because of Wendy, so you can meet Pan and everybody else. They'll all be glad to help out."


End file.
